Activities Like…

I am linking up with Blog Hoppin’s Thankful Linky. Today I am completing this sentence:

Activities like…writing are easier with the help of writing center tools.

I am reposting about my writing center lists below. I have to say that my kids love these and I try to add a new list onto their list every couple of days to help generate new writing ideas. I rarely get the “I don’t know what to write about.”

****The is a repost from 9/14/13****

Do you use writing folders? Last year I used some of Deanna Jumps’s Writing packs and I loved the way she organized the folders. A great pack if you don’t own it and are looking for some writing guidance. I own three of them. Here is one of my student’s folders:

This year I bought the ones with 3 prongs so I could put my blackline word center lists in them to use.

I don’t put all of the word lists in, just some of the ones I thing they will use the most (A Year of Words). Each table group has a “little” pack with all of the words we add. I add them as we study new topics, enter a new season and/or month.

If you want just “the little,” they are available separately:

It’s been a while since I have posted a freebie, so how about a free blackline writing center list. Click below to grab your family words in the blackline version:

Enjoy and if you are interested in “Just the Bigs, blackline version,” click below:

Thanks for stopping by and I would love to hear about your writing folders or tips/tricks.

What is all of the buzz about bees? A lot! Bees are so important for our ecosystem but unfortunately some species are endangered. Kids are usually so curious about bugs, so you have instant engagement when you talk about bees! I like to teach the importance of them, and talk about ways we can help them out. There are so many great bee resources out there for teaching these insects and other pollinators. [ 442 more words ]

We had polar animal adventure day in first grade last week. Polar animal adventure day is a theme day we have as a culminating activity for your polar animal unit. We set up six stations and rotated the first graders through them. Each station was about 15 minutes long. Here are the stations we had….